


One Action Changes Everything

by CptScarlett



Category: Bad Samaritan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Torture, Neurological Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-07-14 03:18:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16031891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CptScarlett/pseuds/CptScarlett
Summary: One changed action in Cale Erendreich's past changes his whole future. He functions on the right side of the law, all the while trying to deal with his psychological dysfunction.As the story progresses we'll see some characters and see similar plot points that we saw from the movie, but things will be very different--as Cale now functions on the right side of the law.





	1. The Action that Changed Everything

When Nathaniel Cale Valkenberg looked back at his childhood, he knew that things could have gone very differently. He wondered now how he would have turned out had he not been rescued from the abusive psychopath that was his father. He remembered the horse barn. He remembered his father teaching him how to break horses. He remembered his father breaking his mother, one emotional and physical punch at a time, till she died.

And he remembered the day that the girl from the farm next door kept him from killing his own beloved horse. It was then he knew, he was like his father. He had a sickness, and if he wasn’t helped, he’d turn out to be just like him.

“Please, help me,” he said as he wept, staring down at the snow where the gun lay, having been knocked out of his hand only moments before by the older girl. “You’ve got to get me away from here.”

And she did. She and her family helped him run away and report his father. His father was rich, but not rich enough to get away from the evidence of the torture he had inflicted on his child, his wife, and—as was determined later—many women before her. It was also discovered that Nathaniel’s mother came from a rich family. His father had hoped that he would gain access to the money that she had tied up in a trust fund in her son’s name, by grooming him to be the same type of evil man he was.

But Nathaniel got out, and just in time. He was put into foster care and into the loving home of James and Belinda Erendreich. They helped him get the counseling and help he needed to overcome the damage his father had done, and to get treatment for his own mental illness.

And now, here sat Cale Erendreich—having been legally adopted by the Erendreich’s, and now going by his middle name—on the black leather couch of the Portland Police Department psychologist, in for his monthly visit. Typically, visits were required on a yearly basis for the police force, but Cale felt the need to come more regularly.

“Your mind just wandered, where were you?” the Doctor questioned him.

“Just thinking about how things could have been different,” Cale said as he stretched his legs out in a semi-reclined state on the couch. He had slid down enough so that his head was pillowed against the back of the couch. He stared up at the old stippled ceiling that, as he thought to himself, was disgusting and must have been done sometime in the 60’s.

“The ceiling is bothering you again. Isn’t it, Cale?” Doctor Bradley glanced between his patient and the ceiling. They had this conversation almost every time Detective Erendreich came in.

“It’s disgusting. Why don’t you have it repaired or replaced? It’s dirty, and all that stippling – there’s no—pattern, no order,” Cale practically growled out as he frowned up at the ceiling.

“Does there have to be order, Cale?” the Doctor once again reminded him, gently.

Cale sighed and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, the ceiling didn’t seem too bad. “No. Order is _not_ imperative.”

“Exactly. Now, let’s move on. You’re taking your medication?” the Doctor asked, focus going back to the notes in front of him.

Cale nodded. “Yes. Like clockwork, six a.m. and nine p.m.”

“And you still feel you need to come in monthly? Why don’t we try every two months, see how it goes?” the Doctor gently pushed again, hoping to receive a different result this month.

“No. I’m not ready,” Cale said sternly.

“Alright, Cale. Not a problem. But I’m required to remind you that the police force only pays for one yearly visit. While your insurance will help pay for the other visits because of your diagnosis, you are responsible for the remaining bills.” The Doctor had the speech memorized by now.

“Yes, yes. And I always remind you that money is not an issue,” Cale snapped.

“How are you using your father’s money these days?” asked the doctor.

Cale shrugged. “Same as always. I only use it to pay for these medical bills, for the charities I’ve told you about before, and once a year to send a gift to my foster parents.”

“Has your living situation changed?” another question from the doctor.

“Not yet. But I am moving next week into this great house up on the hill.” Cale smiled to himself, his eyes closed again.

The Doctor seemed impressed. “You found a place to your liking? That meets all your criteria? That’s very good, Cale.” Cale simply nodded in response, so the Doctor glanced at his watch. “We’re out of time.”

Cale stood and smoothed down his coat, shirt and tie. “Thank you, doctor.”

“See you again in a month, Cale. If you change your mind, just call and let my assistant know.” The Doctor shook Cale’s hand and escorted him to the door. Cale took his trench coat from off the hook by the door and slipped it on before leaving.


	2. We're Not Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erendreich and Bannyon get assigned to a robbery case and Cale is not happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience in waiting! It may be a while before I get to update again but I wanted to start weaving the robberies into this different life of Cale Erendreich!

Back at Portland PD, Cale hung his trench coat on to the metal coat rack just inside the door to his office and walked across the room to sit down in his black leather office chair. His office was unlike any of the other rooms in the department. For one, the furniture was more contemporary, ordered and purchased by Cale himself when the department refused to pay for new furniture. And it was clean, immaculately so. Unlike other desks, there were no piles of files and papers all over Cale's desk. Just his computer, and matching black leather desk items: an ink blotter, pencil cup, and business card holder. Everything else was neatly hidden and filed away in drawers and cabinets around the room.

The bookshelf behind him had a myriad of books ranging in topics from crime, law, and psychology. Mixed in with the books were pieces of art and memorabilia--all related to horses. His love for horses remained, despite what could have been soured by the memories of his fathers mistreatment of the animals--a path he almost went down himself.

He was in the process of logging into his computer when there was a knock on the windowed wall between his office and the one next door. The window was covered by blinds, but he knew who was knocking.

"Yeah, c'mon over!' he yelled loud enough for his office neighbor to hear.

A few moments later, Detective Wayne Bannyon stepped through the doorway and closed the door behind him. He shook his head as he looked around. "Y'know I never get used to walking in here. It's like walking into a whole different world."

"Yes, a clean world. An ordered world. Where you can find what you're looking for quickly and don't have to worry about needing a vaccination if you get a paper cut," Cale replied with a bite of snark that Bannyon had grown used to.

He chuckled in response. "Yeah, s'pose that's true. So, how'd it go?" Bannyon asked as he sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the desk from Erendreich. He leaned back, crossed one leg over the other, and continued, "Bradley give you another pass to keep working? Or have you finally lost too many marbles?"

Cale's eyebrow rose and he glanced away from his laptop screen momentarily towards Bannyon. "I don't believe I have to tell you that."

Wayne Bannyon rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. " He paused and uncrossed his legs, straightening up in the chair. "Besides, at least tell me so I know if I have to train another partner."

"We're not technically partners, you know.," Cale corrected him.

"Yeah, whatever. Partners, co-workers--we work together and sometimes we work cases together. Either way, I don't want some newbie coming in here that I have to train. You may be a crazy SOB, but you're good at your job Erendreich."

Cale pretended to be slightly annoyed. Surprisingly, he enjoyed the Banter with Detective Bannyon. Wayne was one of the few people that he would come close to considering a 'friend.' Cale huffed mockingly. "I'm sure I'm supposed to say thank you for that poor excuse for a compliment. And yes, I'm fine."

"Good. And you are ever so welcome. So, speaking of working together. I got word this morning, the Chief wants us to investigate a break-in and robbery." Bannyon said casually.

"Why us?" Cale questioned. "Sounds like something the uniforms can handle."

"It's apparently his older sister and she's fussing up a storm at him to send someone over."

"So he's using department resources to make his sister happy? And if she's older than the Chief she must be ancient!" Cale leaned back slightly in his chair, considering the situation.

"You going to be the one to call out the Chief on this or are we going to go talk to his sister?" Banyon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm." Cale snorted. "Maybe I will."

Bannyon signed. "Please. You won't. Besides, like I said, you can't go losing your job. I'm not training a newbie detective on how things work around here."

"Alright, let's go," Cale grumbled and got up to retrieve his coat.

*-*-*-*

Two hours later they were getting back into an unmarked police department car. As they put on their seatbelts, Bannyon questioned Cale, "So, what do you think?"

"I think the lady is off her rocker. But I guess we don't have a choice but to give it some thought, considering the Chief will be keeping an eye on this one."

"She swears up and down that her prized camera was stolen. Did you see the manual she pulled out for that thing? It's a cheap piece of crap."

"Oh, but it's the cheap piece of crap that belongs to the Chief's sister. So we check it out just like it was her flat screen TV," Bannyon was beginning to feel like a broken record.

"You know she's going to find that camera next week and all these hours will have been wasted," Cale continued to complain.

"Will you stop whining and drive? C'mon, it's lunchtime and you're paying."

Cale growled. "Oh? Why am I paying?"

"Because I'm not the one who has a hefty inheritance sitting in the bank."

Cale frowned and glanced at his partner. "I should have never told you about that. You better not be telling anyone else in the department. Anyone else at all for that matter, about that money."

Bannyon elbowed his 'partner.' "Of course not. I promised you I wouldn't and I'm not going to break that promise. Now just consider me one of your charities and buy my lunch."

"Alright, but if I'm buying we are not going to that nasty hole in the wall you call a 'diner.'"

Wayne smiled. Mission accomplished. He was getting lunch out of this and had distracted Cale, at least temporarily, from complaining about this case.

They drove for a few minutes in quiet. Bannyon knew that was how his partner preferred it. It wasn't long though before Erendreich broke the silence himself. "I still don't understand why the chief couldn't just have a few uniforms look into this."

Bannyon sighed and rolled his eyes. Well, it was a few minutes of peace at least.


End file.
